“Campaign 2015: Baylor Makes Us All Better” Officially Launched Last Night With A Goal Of $250M

Last night Baylor Health Care System held an announcement party. No, make that an extravaganza that would have delighted the late Zig Ziglar — the fanfare, the sincerity, the enthusiasm, the fireworks and the 200+ EIP (Extremely Important People) filling the Wyly.

But more about the event in the days to come. The important thing is the reason for Baylor’s producing such an event.

In addition to announcing the campaign, they also revealed that $165M has already been raised to meet their goal of $250M by 2015.

The entire release follows the jump, but let’s just say that Baylor Health Care System President /CEO Joel Allison, Baylor Health Care System Foundation President Rowland “Robin” Robinson and Baylor Health Care System Foundation Board and Campaign 2015 Erle Nye have their hearts and minds set on meeting their goal before 2015. A lot of people are depending upon it.

$250 million Campaign 2015 will build on 110-year tradition of excellence

DALLAS, February 28, 2013 – Baylor Health Care System, North Texas’ largest not-for-profit health care system, has announced the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in its 110-year history. The unprecedented campaign, dubbed “Campaign 2015: Baylor Makes Us AllBetter,” will raise $250 million to invest in patient-focused programs, research, medical education and capital improvements.

Baylor supporters and community leaders gathered last night for a public unveiling of the campaign. To date, Baylor Health Care System Foundation has raised $165 million toward its goal.

At the campaign kick-off event, held at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at Dallas’ AT&T Performing Arts Center, patients shared stories of the powerful impact Baylor has had on their lives. A highlight of the evening was an original musical arrangement performed by employees on stage and through a virtual choir assembled in North Texas.

“Ever since Baylor was founded over 110 years ago, it has been a leader and an innovator in the health care field. Baylor is a priceless resource for all of North Texas and its citizens. It is vital that the community come together to support the tradition of excellence that makes the very best health care available to all those in need,” said Erle Nye, chairman of the Baylor Health Care System Foundation Board and Campaign 2015.

“We are asking the community to help us guarantee that excellence remains at the heart of Baylor– and to take it to an even higher level. The needs are too great and our mission is too important for us to ever say, ‘Okay, we’ve done enough,’” said Joel Allison, president and CEO of Baylor Health Care System.

Campaign 2015 already enjoys wide support from the Dallas philanthropic community, including transformational gifts of $20 million from the Sammons Family and the Men and Women of Sammons Enterprises, Inc.; $20 million from Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons; $12.4 million from the Deerbrook Charitable Trust; and $10 million from T. Boone Pickens. Other community and philanthropic leaders and organizations who have supported the campaign with gifts exceeding $1 million: Lana and Barry Andrews, AT&T Foundation, Phyllis and Richard Bernstein, The Earl C. Bradley Jr. Family, Linda and Don Carter, The Collins Family, The Discovery Foundation, EmCare, Inc., Blair and Martha Foster-Skiles, The Joan and Andy Horner Family and Premier Designs, Inc., Hassie Hunt Foundation, Inc., Thomas M. Hunt, Betty and Pom Smith, Texas Oncology, and The James and Angela Thompson Foundation.

“We recognize that, while we remain committed to our mission of serving all people through exemplary health care, the environment is changing. Campaign 2015 will ensure that Baylor Health Care System can embrace the new changes and excel in the delivery of services to meet the needs of a growing population even better than we are today,” said Rowland K. Robinson, president of Baylor Health Care System Foundation.

Campaign investments have a wide-reaching impact on the health care system’s patient-centered programs, facilities, research and medical education. One-hundred percent of philanthropic gifts to the campaign are directed to the donors’ designated areas of support.

Baylor was founded 110 years ago in a 14-room, remodeled mansion in Dallas. Since then, it has become a leader in health care, research and medical education, forging new ground in local, national and global innovations, including: the first-ever blood bank in 1939; the first pacemaker implant in the Southwest in 1960; one of the first neonatal intensive care units in the country in 1973; the first adult liver transplant in Texas in 1985; and the first certified primary stroke center in Dallas/Fort Worth in 2005.

In fiscal year 2012, Baylor Health Care System facilities had more than 2.8 million patient encounters; delivered 20,000 babies; treated close to 410,000 emergency visitors; had more than 95,000 cancer patient encounters; and cared for 54,000 heart and vascular patients. In 2012, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the top-ranked hospital in North Texas and No. 1 in Texas for safety by Consumer Reports.

Baylor Health Care System is a not-for-profit, faith-based supporting organization providing services to a network of acute care hospitals and related health care entities that provide patient care, medical education, research and community service. Baylor facilities recorded more than 2.8 million patient encounters, $4 billion in total operating revenue, $5.2 billion in total assets and $502 million in community benefit in fiscal year 2011 (as reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services). Baylor’s network of more than 300 access points includes 30 owned/operated/ ventured/affiliated hospitals; joint ventured ambulatory surgical centers; satellite outpatient locations; senior centers and more than 180 HealthTexas Provider Network physician clinics. For information visit BaylorHealth.com.

About Baylor Health Care System Foundation

Baylor Health Care System Foundation, a separately incorporated not-for-profit organization, raises and manages charitable funds to support Baylor Health Care System and its charitable affiliates. Since the Foundation was established in 1978, it has distributed more than $440 million to Baylor. It is supported by more than 10,000 active donors, including individuals, corporations and other private foundations. For more information about Baylor Health Care System Foundation, visit Give.BaylorHealth.com.

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